What is Bitcoin?

Traditional currency (the Canadian Dollar, the U.S. Dollar, the Swiss Franc) is a bill or coin, backed by the gold standard, and currently regulated by Governments worldwide. Bitcoin is unregulated, backed by no one and is a “virtual currency” – there is no physical ‘Bitcoins’. The transfer of Bitcoins is from Peer to Peer so there is no need for a central clearing bank. This has led to the U.S. Treasury considering Bitcoins a “decentralized virtual currency”.

Eventhough with the warnings, many online places will allow payment with Bitcoin (AND in Regina you can even convert your hard earned Bitcoin into Canadian currency at Triffons Pizza in the South end. Check out CoinMap, it gives you a Google Map view of all the places that accept Bitcoin.

At the writing of this post, a single Bitcoin is worth 426 Canadian dollars.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency, meaning it’s only online. It’s paving the way for a new way of thinking about how we will pay for items in our life. Some people love it, some hate it, obviously anyone in the traditional banking world be weary of it and, like anything new, we’re always scared of it.

If you don’t want to purchase Bitcoin with real dollars, you can buy a mining rig. It might cost you a lot and as more and more people are trying to mine Bitcoin, it gets more and more difficult TO mine.

So do you think it will become mainstream? Do you think Bitcoin will replace the Canadian dollar?